


Elementary, Dear Kaidoh

by longleggedgit



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-19
Updated: 2014-01-19
Packaged: 2018-01-09 06:31:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1142639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/longleggedgit/pseuds/longleggedgit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaidoh is getting notes from a secret admirer, and Inui is determined to solve the mystery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Elementary, Dear Kaidoh

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alestar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alestar/gifts).



> Written for alestar in inukai_exchange 2010! :)

Kaidoh finds the first letter on a Monday, after school but before tennis practice, stuffed into the corner of his shoe cubby.

_Dear Kaidoh,_

_I really like the way you play tennis. You always look so strong! I hope you'll play tennis for me sometime._

_Much love from your secret admirer._

It's written in pink pen, with hearts drawn all along the borders. Kaidoh almost tears a hole in the paper just from his grip, then stuffs it in his back pocket before anyone else can notice. The problem is, someone already did.

"Hey, what's that?" Momo asks, snatching the letter from Kaidoh's pocket and darting away when Kaidoh tries to snatch it back. "Is it a love letter?"

He was probably trying to make a joke, but that only makes it worse when Momo realizes he was right, gaping at the paper in his hands like he's just found step-by-step instructions to pulling off the Tezuka Zone.

"Mamushi! Somebody likes you!" he practically squeals, tearing off in the direction of the tennis clubroom. Kaidoh almost trips chasing after him, but by the time he reaches the clubroom, one shoe on, the other clutched in his fist, it's too late.

"'Much love,'" Momo concludes, reciting to the entire gathered regulars team in a high-pitched voice that doesn't sound like a girl at all, "'from your secret admirer.'"

"Give me that!" Kaidoh snarls, literally ripping the letter from Momo's hands. The half Kaidoh didn't manage to grab flutters to the ground pitifully.

"Kaidoh!" Eiji bounds over and throws an arm around Kaidoh's shoulders. "Do you have any idea who it is?"

Kaidoh only glares and shakes him off, bending down to pick up the other half of the letter so he can crumple both parts into a ball.

"It could be Suzuki from English," Momo suggests, trying to sound smart. "I saw her ask to borrow his eraser once!"

"I'm sure there are all sorts of girls interested in Kaidoh," Fuji says, smiling at Kaidoh in a way that makes him nervous.

"I don't care who it is." Kaidoh tosses the letter-ball in the direction of the trash can, but before it can reach its destination, it's intercepted.

"Very intriguing," Inui says, unfolding the wadded-up letter pieces and flattening them against his locker. He has a glint in his eye that makes Kaidoh wish it weren't too late to pretend he was sick and go home early. "It's a case worthy of further study," Inui decides suddenly, folding the letter pieces into two perfect squares and slipping them carefully into his track pants. "Don't worry, Kaidoh. We'll find out who is responsible."

Kaidoh swallows hard, not sure what to say. Inui turns away and begins muttering to himself as he heads toward the courts, and Fuji claps a hand on his shoulder.

"We started reading _Sherlock Holmes_ in Western literature last week," he says, just before collecting his racket and making his own way toward the door. "I think Inui is feeling inspired."

"Mamushi has a girlfriend!" Momo sings, shouldering Kaidoh as he runs past.

"Good luck, Kaidoh-senpai," Ryoma says, smirking a little. Taka and Oishi mutter similar sentiments on their way out.

"Kaidoh," Inui says, sticking his head back in just as Kaidoh has managed to get his bearings and pull off his uniform jacket. "I'll need a written list detailing all your relations with female students at this school as soon as you can get it to me."

He disappears again without waiting for a response, and once he's gone Kaidoh kicks the locker below his, hard. Then he hears Tezuka shout something vaguely threatening from the courts, and he has to hurry to catch up.

~

All Kaidoh wants to do after practice is go home and focus on studying or video games or anything other than love letters in his shoe cubby. What he ends up doing is accompanying Inui back to his house and, despite his own weak protests, setting about the task of investigating his secret admirer on the floor next to Inui's bed.

"We'll begin with the girls in your year," Inui says, his tone a little more clinical even than usual as he sketches out a t-chart in his notebook. "It's only logical, after all, that we should start with those suspects you have the most regular contact with."

"Suspects?" Kaidoh repeats. The whole train of conversation is making his stomach knot up unpleasantly, and he wishes Inui had thought to offer him some tea when they'd reached his house. Inui has a habit, when he's focused on something like a new juice recipe or a really hard math problem, to forget about things like food and water.

"All females attending Seigaku are currently suspects in this investigation," Inui says matter-of-factly. He pauses in writing down the first few names on the chart to frown at his pen. "Some who aren't attending Seigaku, too. How often do you see Fudomine's An?"

The train of conversation is _really_ making Kaidoh's stomach hurt now, so he stands up and moves to Inui's desk, hoping to find something to distract him.

"What's this?" Kaidoh asks, picking up a weird-looking hat that's wedged between a mug full of pens and what appears to be a real antique pipe.

Inui finishes writing down _Takanami Mitsuko_ and glances up. "Deerstalker," he says.

"What?"

"The hat. It's called a deerstalker. It would have been worn by men in late 19th and early 20th century England, primarily for the purpose of hunting, but has achieved something of an iconic status as an accessory for detectives via _Sherlock Holmes_." Inui's face brightens suddenly and he sets down the notebook. "Have you read any _Sherlock Holmes_ , Kaidoh?"

It seems like a waste of time to ask where Inui got the hat, so Kaidoh just puts it back on the desk and rubs his shoulder.

"No," he says. He saw a little bit of a cartoon where a dog dressed up like Sherlock Holmes once, but he's not sure that counts.

"Oh." Inui looks crestfallen. "It's quite good. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did."

Kaidoh decides it's wiser to not mention the pipe. "Huh."

Inui clears his throat. "Well," he says. "This list should be sufficient. I think we're ready to begin with the interviews now."

"Interviews?"

"Of course." Inui snaps his notebook shut and beams at Kaidoh. "We need to collect alibis and start building character profiles."

When Kaidoh doesn't say anything back, Inui stands, rolling up the notebook to stuff in his pocket and rustling around the mess on his desk.

"It's a shame it's so difficult to obtain chloroform," Inui mutters, and Kaidoh's glad it's in the quiet voice Inui only uses when talking to himself, because he doesn't even want to know what that is.

"When do we start?" Kaidoh asks. Now that the wheels have been set in motion, he knows there's no stopping this; Inui tends to see things through until the end, so Kaidoh might as well just go along with it and try not to let the investigation get too out of hand.

Inui turns around, setting the deerstalker on his head and sticking the pipe in his mouth in one swift motion. "Now," he says, grinning around the pipe. "Let's collect some data."

It's not the most embarrassing thing Inui has ever worn in public, so Kaidoh just puts his hands in his pockets and nods.

~

The only girl they end up finding that late in the evening is Tachibana An, who is still lingering around the tennis courts with Kamio and Ibu when the sun starts to go down. Kaidoh is infinitely relieved when Inui crosses her off the list after just a few short questions, making a note next to her name that looks suspiciously like _Love triangle—Kamio, Momoshiro_.

Inui snaps shut the notebook before Kaidoh can really be sure of what he saw, but, noticing Kaidoh's glance, Inui says, "Pink pen and hearts aren't really her style, anyway."

They take a seat side-by-side on a bench in the park, Inui getting curious looks from passersby for his hat and the pipe he chews on in concentration as he looks over the list.

"Do you have Takanami's phone number?" Inui wonders.

"No."

"Hmm. Kobayashi's?"

"No."

"Hmm." Inui frowns and removes the pipe so he can tap it against his cheek. "Our investigation may have to be conducted primarily during school hours from here on out."

Kaidoh nods, trying to make it look like he thinks this is hard news to take. "We could play tennis," he says. He has his racket with because it needs re-taping, and probably Kamio or Ibu would let them borrow another one for a little while.

Inui raises his eyebrows, like he's taken aback by the suggestion. "Okay," he agrees, taking off his hat and handing it to Kaidoh, along with the pipe. Kaidoh puts both in his bag and they head to the courts, and after a few rounds of easy back-and-forth Kaidoh thinks it's been kind of a weird day, but not, in the end, all that bad.

~

Things start out pretty normal on Tuesday. When Kaidoh gets to homeroom, his neighbor on the left, Kimura, is already there, which he's glad for because he wants to go over some math problems. She's definitely the least annoying person in homeroom, and even better, she's in his same section for geometry and tends to get it better than Kaidoh does.

"Good morning," Kimura says, after Kaidoh reaches his desk and drops his bag.

"Morning."

Once he's seated, he pulls out his math book and doesn't say anything until Kimura leans over and asks, "Want to go over yesterday's homework?"

"Okay." It kind of embarrasses Kaidoh to ask, since he's usually the one who needs more help, so he's grateful that Kimura is always the one to suggest it.

They've just about finished going over the problems—Kaidoh only had one he couldn't get, and after Kimura explained it, it made sense—when Inui suddenly rushes into the room, a broad smile on his face and a bounce in his step. It seems like his smile falters just for a second when he spots Kaidoh and Kimura going over their work together, but then it's back and he's jogging over to Kaidoh's other side. He looks so excited Kaidoh can't even be annoyed at the way people are staring. At least hats aren't allowed in school.

"This was in your shoe cubby this morning," Inui says without preamble, thrusting a letter at him.

"Why were you looking in my shoe cubby?"

"Read it, Kaidoh."

Kimura looks a little surprised, but not annoyed, and she turns back to her own homework as Kaidoh tucks away his and looks down at the scrap of paper. It's pink and full of hearts again, and he can feel his face starting to flush already.

_Dear Kaidoh,_

_What kind of movies do you like? My favorites are Westerns and science fiction. I'd like to go to a movie with you sometime._

_Much love from your secret admirer._

Kaidoh puts the letter down on his desk and Inui picks it right back up, folding it and slipping it in between the pages of his notebook.   "This is wonderful," Inui says, the exact opposite of what Kaidoh is thinking. Inui must recognize this in the way Kaidoh scowls, because he goes on to explain, "She's just given us a clue to her identity."

It still doesn't seem that wonderful to Kaidoh. "I don't even like science fiction," he says.

Inui tilts his head. "You don't?" He opens the notebook up again and begins to jot something down, but before he's done writing the first bell rings.

"I'll see you at lunch," Inui says, retreating when Kaidoh's homeroom teacher takes his place at the front desk and gives him an impatient look. "Meet me on the roof!"

Kaidoh sighs and closes his math book, already in a bad mood when he notices Kimura staring at him.   "What are you looking at?" he snaps. Kimura's eyes widen but she returns her attention to her homework, and Kaidoh spends the rest of homeroom feeling guilty.

~

At lunch, instead of going to the cafeteria, they spend the whole hour on the roof, Kaidoh eating his bento and Inui going without any lunch at all, scouring over the list for names that can be eliminated.

"Yamada's favorite movies are romantic comedies, so she's out," Inui says, crossing off the third name in as many minutes.

"How do you know that?" Kaidoh asks.

"Research." Inui waves his hand like these are trivial details. "Toshie doesn't like violence, so she's unlikely, too."

"Aren't you going to eat something?"

Inui seems thrown by the question. "It would be a waste of time to wait in line in the cafeteria," he says. Kaidoh rolls his eyes and pushes his bento toward Inui.

"My mom always makes too much," he says, although really he could probably eat it all.

"Thank you, Kaidoh." Inui takes a pair of collapsible chopsticks out from his bag and begins to pick at the bento slowly, his attention still focused on the list.

"Hmm," he says. "We're down to three names."

Kaidoh furrows his brow and leans closer to get a better look. "Three? How did you cut so many?"

"This morning I analyzed the handwriting styles of Fukuda Yukiko, Fukuda Akane, Kobayashi, Matsumoto, and Itou, none of which matched our letter-writer's."

"Where did you get the idea to do that?" Kaidoh wonders, flabbergasted.

Inui smiles, like he's been waiting for Kaidoh to ask. "Sherlock Holmes," he says proudly. "He could tell all sorts of things about a person just by looking at his handwriting. Actually, in _The Adventure of the Naval Treaty_ —"

"So which suspects are left?" Kaidoh asks quickly. It's not that he's not interested, but he knows from experience how long Inui can go on talking about something from Western literature class, and the bell is probably going to ring soon.

Thankfully, Inui doesn't seem to take it personally, or even really notice that he's been interrupted.

"Suzuki is absent today. Nakashima was absent yesterday." He points to each name with his chopsticks as he goes down the list. "Only Okamoto, Fujiwara and Kimura remain. Do any of those names mean anything to you?"

"Not really." Kaidoh only knows Okamoto as the quiet girl from gym class, Fujiwara as the popular girl from science, and Kimura as the girl he occasionally goes over homework with and who he snapped at in homeroom this morning. Which he now feels even more guilty about.

"Well, think about it carefully," Inui says, pushing the notebook away and turning his full attention on the rest of Kaidoh's lunch. "No detail is too insignificant."

The bell rings before Kaidoh can think of a response. "I have to go to gym," he says, packing up his bento and bag.

"See you at tennis practice," Inui says.

When Kaidoh reaches the door to the stairs, he chances a look over his shoulder at the far end of the roof. Inui is still there, poring over the list and smiling faintly, like there's nothing in the world he'd rather be doing.

~

Kaidoh is expecting Inui to insist on another joint case-study session tonight, but after tennis is over and they've both showered and changed Inui pats Kaidoh on the back and mutters something about needing time to think, and then he's putting on his deerstalker and out the door. It doesn't make sense to Kaidoh why Inui can't just do more handwriting analysis or whatever to figure out which of the last three names the letter-writer is, but he's not in a hurry to find out, so he just nods goodbye and starts home himself. He hasn't even left the tennis courts, however, when someone calls his name and he stops in his tracks, trying to locate the voice.

"Kaidoh!" He spots Kimura coming from the direction of the school and for a second considers pretending he didn't hear her, but by now they've made eye contact and he's pretty much stuck. She jogs up to him and he shifts his feet uncomfortably, wondering if she wants to yell at him for being rude in homeroom.

"I'm supposed to give you this," Kimura says instead of yelling, and Kaidoh stops shifting when she holds out a new note.

He takes it and waits for her to leave. She doesn't, so he reluctantly opens it and reads over the contents, Kimura craning her neck to read as well. He can't be bothered to try and stop her, and anyway, if she took it all this way without peeking she probably deserves to see.

_Dear Kaidoh,_

_Would you ever consider meeting me? I would really like to take you on a date. Leave your reply in your shoe cubby for me after school tomorrow._

_Much love from your secret admirer._

"A secret admirer, huh?" Kimura seems to find the letter funny, even though it's definitely not.

"Who gave it to you?" Kaidoh asks, frowning.

Kimura shakes her head and shrugs. "Sorry," she says. "I promised I wouldn't tell."

Kaidoh doesn't want to try and force it out of her, and he figures Inui would be better at that sort of thing anyway, so he just stuffs it into his pocket. "Uh. Thanks."

"It's no problem." The look on her face makes Kaidoh think she wants to say something else, but maybe he's wrong, because in the end all she says is, "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Kaidoh waits until she's out of earshot before pulling out his phone to call Inui.

The phone only rings once before Inui picks up, and Kaidoh recounts the story as quickly as he can, blushing a little when he has to read the letter out loud.

"This is all coming together wonderfully," Inui says, sounding giddy with the news.

Kaidoh looks around to make doubly sure he's alone. He doesn't want Kimura—or worse, Momo or Fuji—listening in. "Do you think you know who wrote them?"

"Absolutely, but we have to be sure," Inui says. "Write a reply and we'll put it in your cubby first thing tomorrow."

"Write a reply?" Kaidoh almost drops his phone.

"Of course. Consider it bait."

"I'm not trying to catch anything," Kaidoh says, a little desperate.

Inui doesn't seem to hear him. "Just tell her yes, you'll meet her, and suggest a place and time. Oh, and tell her what kind of movies you like best." He pauses. "What kind of movies _do_ you like best?"

"I don't know." Kaidoh is really starting to hate this, being forced to talk about himself and all the girls he's ever spoken to and his favorite movies but never knowing what's going on. "Movies about animals, I guess. Westerns are okay."

For a second, Kaidoh thinks Inui laughs at him, but then it sounds like he's coughing instead.

"Pardon me," Inui says. "What kind of animals?"

"I'm going to go, Senpai."

"Don't forget to bring a reply with you to school tomorrow!"

Kaidoh grunts and hangs up the phone.

~

It's not a surprise to Kaidoh when he finds Inui at his desk in homeroom Wednesday morning. His hat is nowhere to be found, but he does have his pipe out and is fiddling with it absently—and in plain view of the teacher, which Kaidoh thinks is just stupid.

"Put that away or you'll get in trouble," Kaidoh says, cutting at glance at the teacher's desk. He's not looking, but Kimura, for all that she seems to be invested in her book, is suspiciously tense, her eyes narrowed like she's focusing on something very hard.

"Do you have your response?" Inui obediently tucks the pipe into his bag and Kaidoh obediently pulls out his letter, a little wrinkled from being stuffed in hastily on his way out the door. It's actually the fourth letter he wrote; the first three ended up in the garbage.

_Okay. Meet me after tennis practice Thursday by the broken water fountain._

There's a smile playing at Inui's lips when he puts the letter down. "Nicely put, Kaidoh."

Inui stands up to allow Kaidoh to take his seat so he does, crossing his arms and glaring at Kimura every few seconds to try and figure out if she's listening or not. "I still don't see how it's going to help."

"A stake-out, naturally," Inui says. "We'll catch the culprit when she goes to your cubby."

"A stake-out?" Kaidoh doesn't like the sound of that. "But we have tennis practice."

"Oh, I have agents to do that kind of thing for me," Inui says.

Before Kaidoh can ask what he means, the bell rings.

"I'll deliver this," Inui says, tucking the letter in his pocket and heading for the door. "See you after school!"

When Kaidoh glances to the right, Kimura is watching Inui's retreating form as closely as Kaidoh was a second ago, and something about the look in her eye makes him uneasy.

~

Once tennis practice is over, Inui is in and out of the showers faster than Kaidoh has ever seen him move, and by the time Kaidoh has finished cleaning up and getting dressed Inui is waiting for him on the bench by his locker, hat on his head and pipe in his mouth. All the rest of the regulars have left by now, which Kaidoh thinks is probably a good thing.

"Ready to find out the outcome of our stake-out?" Inui asks.

Kaidoh opens his locker and stuffs his tennis uniform inside. "I guess." He closes the door and turns around to look at Inui expectantly, waiting for him to lead them somewhere.

"Oh," Inui says, reading the question in Kaidoh's gaze. "They'll come to us."

Sure enough, barely a minute has passed before Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo burst into the clubroom, tripping over each other in their excitement.

"Inui-senpai!" Horio says, saluting as he hurries forward. "We did what you said, but—"

"Who was it?" Inui cuts him off.

Horio shakes his head and looks back at Kachiro and Katsuo, who only shrug.

"We didn't see anyone," Horio says. "But there was a note when we got there."

He holds a new piece of paper out, and Inui takes it from him and frowns.

"You're sure you didn't see anyone walking away?" he quizzes them, passing off the note to Kaidoh. "Okamoto? Kimura?"

"What?" Now Horio is the one to look confused. "Okamoto Naoko? She's a girl!"

Kaidoh's shoulders go rigid. "What do you mean, 'She's a girl'?"

Horio balks at the edge to Kaidoh's voice, but he manages to stammer, "It's—it's the boy's shoe cubbies! Girls aren't allowed in there!"

The pipe falls from Inui's mouth and clatters to the floor, which Kaidoh figures must be because he feels just as stupid as Kaidoh does for not having figured that one out on their own.

"Of course," Inui mutters, like things are starting to make _more_ sense now. "Thank you, Horio, Kachiro, Katsuo, you can go now."

They rush out as quickly as they came, and once they're gone Inui bends down to pick up his pipe, his movements suddenly a little awkward.

"What does it say?" he asks.

Kaidoh had almost forgotten about the note. He unfolds it and squints at the handwriting.

 _Okay. See you then_ , is all it reads, in uncharacteristic terseness.

The hearts and pink pen are gone, too, like the letter-writer knew they would figure out he was a boy so he decided to stop pretending. Kaidoh hands the note off to Inui, glad to be rid of it, and leans against the lockers, suddenly tired.

"We'll have to make a new list," Inui says after a few seconds, breaking the silence.

Kaidoh stares at him.

"Of boys," Inui elaborates.

"I have a lot of homework to do tonight." Kaidoh's not sure where the lie comes from, but it gives him an excuse to turn away and zip up his bag, desperate to get out of there.

"Ah," Inui says. "I can start some research on my own, then."

Kaidoh doesn't know what to say, so he just nods and leaves, running all the way home.

~

Inui calls him at 7:15, but Kaidoh doesn't pick up the phone. He calls again at 7:25, then 7:40, then 7:55, until finally, unable to stand even the silent vibrations, Kaidoh decides he can't go on ignoring him anymore.

 _senpai i'm really busy_ , Kaidoh texts, holding the phone in his hands and staring at the screen even after he hits send. It never takes Inui long to reply back.

Sure enough, in under a minute, Kaidoh's phone buzzes with a new message.

_I don't want to distract you from your homework, of course. I just wanted to ask you a few questions, for the purpose of making a more effective list._

Kaidoh spends a couple seconds trying to figure out the nicest way to text _I don't care about stupid secret admirers or stupid lists and I just want to pretend this whole thing never happened_ , but when nothing comes to him he assumes it must be impossible.

Instead, he just gives in, like always. _okay what do you need to know_

This time, Inui's response takes a little longer. Kaidoh sets the phone on his desk and tries to concentrate on some proofs for geometry, but he ends up just staring at the paper and tapping his pencil on the desk until his phone vibrates again and he fumbles to pick it up.

_First question: are there any male classmates you are especially close with? Second question: do any of these classmates seem to have a particular affection for you? Third question: do you have a particular affection for any of them?_

The hair on Kaidoh's arms starts to stand up and he scans the message two more times, wondering if he's reading things right. He doesn't want to answer, would rather throw his phone against the wall and go for a run and think about nothing at all, but answers start to flood his head anyway. Yes, the regulars tennis team. Yes, you. Yes, you. The last two he would never even think about sending back, so when some of the shock has worn off and he's only left with a vague haze of anger, he texts the first thing his reluctant fingers will let him key out.

_this is too weird senpai._

Once it's been sent, something twists up awful in the pit of Kaidoh's stomach and he does throw the phone, although only onto his bed, where it bounces off and onto the floor. He changes into his workout clothes as quick as he can and goes for a run, not even bothering to tell his parents, and when he gets back, dripping with sweat and short of breath and up much later than he usually goes to bed, Inui still hasn't texted a response.

For some reason, this makes Kaidoh feel worse instead of better.

~

On Thursday morning, Inui isn't waiting for Kaidoh in his homeroom, which comes as surprisingly disappointing. Kaidoh takes his time getting settled at his desk, fidgeting around restlessly, and watches the clock on the wall ticking away the minutes before the bell rings. Kimura still isn't there at five to eight, which is unusual, as she tends to be early. Acting on a weird, niggling instinct, Kaidoh jumps up from his seat and walks back into the hallway. He's not sure where he was intending on going, but once he's there he spots Inui and Kimura almost instantly, talking animatedly next to the water fountain. There's a group of third-years chatting nearby, and Kaidoh slips in close to them, out of Inui and Kimura's line of sight but within hearing.

"I'm sorry. I just don't want to do it anymore," Kimura is saying.

Inui looks as distraught as Kaidoh's ever seen him. "It's only one more time," he says. "Please."

Kimura looks sympathetic, but Kaidoh can tell by her expression that she's not going to waver on whatever it is they're talking about. "I'm sorry," she repeats. "Look, maybe if _you_ just—"

"I've already told you that's not an option," Inui says.

The bell rings and Inui winces like it hurts him. He actually seems kind of sick, when Kaidoh really looks at him; there are bags under his eyes and he's even paler than usual.

"I have to go," Kimura says. "Look, I hope you can make it work. But I have a boyfriend, and I don't think I should be doing this."

Kaidoh feels weirdly panicked now and he almost lurches forward, half-determined to grab one of them by the shirt collar and demand an explanation. But then the crowd he's hiding behind starts to disperse, and at risk of being caught, Kaidoh has to slink back into homeroom without hearing what Inui says in response, if he says anything at all.

He's only just sat down when Kimura enters the room again and takes her seat next to him. For some reason, Kaidoh feels annoyed with her, even though he doesn't think she's done anything wrong, so he turns his attention to his math book, not wanting to snap again.

To his surprise, Kimura leans in close to him, ignoring his hunched shoulders to whisper, "You need to work on your spying."

She's seems like she's trying not to laugh when Kaidoh whirls around to face her, his cheeks getting hot, and he's so distracted he misses his own name during roll call.

~

There isn't a note in Kaidoh's shoe cubby after school, which is a relief, but when he gets to tennis practice Inui isn't there, either, and that's not a relief at all.

"He was in Western lit, but he looked a little sick," Fuji says, after Ryuuzaki asks if anyone has seen Inui today. "Maybe he went home?"

"Well, better he takes care of himself if he's sick," Ryuuzaki says. "Okay, everyone partner up, we're starting out with doubles drills!"

Kaidoh ends up with Oishi, and he plays terribly. Then they do one-on-one matches and he plays even worse. He can't stop thinking about what he has to do after practice, how Inui's gone so Kaidoh can't ask him for advice and no one else even knows what's going on. The more he worries about it, the faster practice seems to fly by, until suddenly he's the last one in the clubroom, showered and dressed and ready to go, and he's been pretending to tie his left shoe for so long even he has to admit it's getting ridiculous.

Steeling himself, he does his shoe up in a double-knot, hefts his bag, and leaves the clubroom to head for the broken water fountain. It's a short walk, and once he gets there he takes a moment to look around. He's already late, but no one is there—at least, no one he can see—so he takes a seat on the nearest bench and waits.

Fifteen minutes pass and no one shows up. Kaidoh's leg starts to bounce with nervous energy, which he keeps trying to stop but can never hold at bay for longer than a few seconds. At twenty minutes, he takes out his phone and checks it for messages. At twenty-five, he texts his mom that he'll be late for dinner because of a tutoring appointment he forgot about. At thirty, he closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep, even though he's so anxious he doesn't know if he'll ever sleep again.

At a little after an hour, he hears a familiar voice from behind him.

"Kaidoh?"

He turns around without getting up and watches as Kimura approaches, her expression unreadable.

"Why are you here so late?" Kaidoh asks, facing forward again.

Kimura takes a seat near him, on the far side of the bench, and folds her hands in her lap. "We had a competition in karate tonight," she says.

Kaidoh didn't even know she was in karate. He grunts.

"You still don't know who left you the letters?"

"No." He can't help but add, cheeks heating a little, "You do."

"I met my boyfriend in karate," Kimura says, like she didn't hear him. "He was a first-year and I was a second-year, and even though it was obvious he had a thing for me right away, he could never admit it. For the longest time I just thought he was weird, because any time I tried to talk to him he got all awkward and wouldn't say much."

When it becomes apparent Kimura has no intention of finishing her story, Kaidoh glances at her and clears his throat.

"Sometimes," she says at length, "I think people try, but they can't quite meet you half way. Sometimes you have to cover the rest of the distance yourself."

It sounds like something his mom would say, but then something in the back of his mind whirs to life and he feels like he just found a really important landmark after being lost for days.

"Oh," Kimura says, reaching into her backpack, "I have this for you." It's another letter, written in plain, black pen and slightly messy script, which Kaidoh takes without pause.

 _I'm sorry, Kaidoh_ , the letter reads. _I don't think this is such a good idea after all. I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble._

And just like that, everything makes sense. At least, almost everything. "Thanks," Kaidoh says, standing and slipping it into his pocket.

"Where are you going?" Kimura wonders.

Kaidoh shifts his bag over his shoulder and catches sight of a figure hovering near the back entrance to the gymnasium, watching them; Kimura's boyfriend, he guesses, a tall skinny guy with a perplexed look on his face. He's probably just as confused as Kaidoh has been for the past few days.

"I'm late for something," Kaidoh says, waving. He doesn't wait to see if Kimura's boyfriend waves back before he takes off, running all the way to the bus station that connects to the stop near Inui's house. On the way there, he realizes he never thanked Kimura and almost turns back, cursing. But there'll be time for that, he supposes, in homeroom tomorrow.

~

Inui's mom is the one who comes to the door to let Kaidoh in, and after Kaidoh has bowed and apologized for the unexpected visit he hurries upstairs, only knocking twice before letting himself in to Inui's room.

The first thing he notices is that Inui still looks terrible, the light from his desk lamp accentuating the tired circles under his eyes. He's hunched over his desk with a book, but judging by the smudges on his cheek, he was probably just sleeping on top of it before Kaidoh came in. What Kaidoh notices next are Inui's deerstalker and pipe, sticking out of the overflowing garbage can next to Inui's desk. Kaidoh shuts the door behind him before he stoops down to rescue them, weighing both hat and pipe in his hands. When he looks up, Inui is staring at him like he's a ghost.

"Why'd you throw them away?" Kaidoh asks.

Inui frowns and has to consider before answering. "I'm not a very good Sherlock Holmes," he says eventually.

Kaidoh frowns, too. "I don't know," he says. "I think part of being good at solving a mystery must be knowing how to make one up in the first place."

For a moment, there's only silence, and neither of them moves an inch. Then Inui takes a deep breath.

"Kimura told you?"

"I figured it out myself," Kaidoh says, trying not to sound offended.

Inui nods and turns back to his book, closing it with a loud snap. Kaidoh can see now that it's an anthology of _Sherlock Holmes_ stories.

It doesn't seem like Inui wants to say anything first, so Kaidoh starts. "Why did you draw all the pink hearts and stuff?"

"I had to gauge your reaction in steps." Inui's cheeks are starting to get a little flushed, which actually looks nice since he was so pale before.

"Steps?"

"First, analyze your response to the possibility of a female secret admirer. Then," —Inui stumbles a little here— "male."

That was kind of what Kaidoh figured, but he still doesn't quite understand everything. "What about Kimura?"

Now Inui's getting really red. "At first, I suspected you maybe had feelings for her."

"What?" Kaidoh tries to remember ever having said something along those lines. "Why?"

Inui just shrugs. "You studied together almost every morning," he says. "She's intelligent and athletic. I didn't know at first that she was seeing someone, they're rather low-profile."

Kaidoh gets a little red at this. "Okay," he says. He decides not to bring up the fact that, for a few hours anyway, he thought maybe Inui liked Kimura. "But then, she started to give me letters—"

"She caught me," Inui says, laughing even though he doesn't sound that amused. "I was going to put a letter in your desk, but it was her day to clean the boards, and she saw." He looks thoughtful when he adds, "I tried to convince her they were from a girl, but I'm not positive she believed me. She was still willing to help pass them along, however, up to a certain point."

Kaidoh remembers the conversation he saw in the hall. "Why didn't you just give them to me yourself?" he asks. "If you were planning on meeting me in the end anyway."

Some of the color seems to drain out of Inui's face again, and he looks away from Kaidoh, like he can't meet his eyes anymore.

"I started out overconfident," he says. "After your text message, I realized I was in error assuming you might—" he cuts himself off there and seems to rethink his words. "I got scared," he concludes, simply.

"Kimura brought me this," Kaidoh says, pulling the last note out of his pocket and stepping forward to hand it to Inui. Inui takes it, obviously surprised.

"I left it on your desk before leaving school, for you to find in the morning," he says.

That answers pretty much every question Kaidoh had, so he nods, feeling gratified to be in the know after a long week of frustration. His stomach has felt like it was slowly unraveling for the entire conversation.

"Kaidoh," Inui says, standing and straightening out his wrinkled shirt. "I'm sorry for my actions over the past week. If you—I know it's a great deal to ask, but if you feel you can—forget about this whole ordeal, or just—overlook it—"

Kaidoh can't really stand to see Inui like this anymore, so he takes another step forward, close enough that Inui swallows audibly.

"Is Sherlock Holmes good at everything?" Kaidoh asks, putting the deerstalker on Inui's head and the pipe on the desk.

Inui seems utterly perplexed by the question, but he adjusts the brim of the hat and answers anyway. "No—in fact, he's quite obtuse at times, and tends to exhibit little to no social awareness, often offending his friends and clients unintentionally. Actually, in _The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist_ —"

"I think you make a pretty good Sherlock Holmes, Senpai," Kaidoh says, absolutely determined to cut him off. Inui looks like he's about to argue, but before he can get a word out, Kaidoh wraps a hand around his neck and pulls him into a kiss, only letting it linger for a moment before he pulls away, heart beating loud in his ears.

It takes about four seconds for Inui to recover from the shock, but when he does, it happens fast. He practically attacks Kaidoh, shoving him against the desk and tangling one hand in his hair, letting the other rest on his collarbone as he kisses him hard. Kaidoh kisses back with just as much enthusiasm, and whatever anxiety was still in him melts away entirely, leaving him free to grab at Inui's sweatshirt and tug him closer, smiling against his lips. Inui only pulls away when they're both breathless and struggling to stay upright, and even then he can't seem to go a few seconds without kissing Kaidoh again, briefly, on his lips or next to his mouth.

"Kaidoh," Inui says, letting their foreheads rest together. "Are you sure?"

"I've had a lot of time to think about it, Senpai," Kaidoh says. "Just—no more letters."

Inui laughs, and his breath against Kaidoh's face makes him shiver. "I was ready to give up that experiment anyway."

Kaidoh laughs, too, and then notices the deerstalker, which has fallen from Inui's head onto the floor. He untangles himself from Inui, both of them a little reluctant to move, and picks it up, pressing it into Inui's hands.

"You can still wear the hat, though," Kaidoh says, coloring when Inui immediately lifts an eyebrow. "I mean. Sometimes. If you want."

"Thank you, my dear," Inui says, in sort of a weird voice. Kaidoh is about to ask if that's a joke or something, but then Inui puts the hat on Kaidoh's head and presses him against the desk again, and he figures there's probably been enough questioning for one night.

_end_  



End file.
